Downpour
by MegTDJ
Summary: Being stuck up a tree has its perks. SamTeal'c.


Title: Downpour  
Author: MegTDJ  
Category: Romance  
Rating: K+  
Pairing: Sam/Teal'c  
Spoilers: None  
Summary: Being stuck up a tree has its perks.  
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, its universe and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.

Author's notes: Inspired by my brother's trip to Yosemite, Kerri's suggestion of a fic set in water, and a scene in the series 1 ep of Monarch of the Glen that I saw yesterday (major bonus points to anyone who knows which scene between which characters!). Smush them all together along with a need to write Sam/Teal'c, and this is what you get.

Oodles of thanks to Kerri for not completely disowning me during my dry spell. I'll try not to let it happen again, I promise!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**Downpour**

The rain had started so suddenly and flooded the river so quickly that SG-1 soon found they had nowhere to go but up. Not that they'd have gotten very far even without the flood - they'd been all but blinded by the intense, steady downpour within seconds.

Sitting on the bough of one of the many massive trees in this alien forest, Sam couldn't see a damned thing beyond the canopy of leaves but water. The sound of it was almost deafening. She felt like she was sitting in the middle of a waterfall. It was enough to make even the strongest person feel claustrophobic.

Thank God for Teal'c. She hadn't realized he was following her up the tree until she'd reached the hollow between the main branches and settled herself into it. His sudden appearance at her side had just about scared the living daylights out of her. For a moment she had mistaken him for a bear or some other animal that considered this tree its home, but even in the dark it was impossible to miss the gold symbol on his forehead. She'd laughed in relief as he'd squeezed in beside her, and the tension of the day's journey had slowly begun to drain out of her.

That had been four hours earlier. The rain hadn't let up for a moment in all that time, and it was starting to drive her insane.

She snuggled closer against Teal'c's chest as a shiver ran through her from head to toe, and she felt his arm tighten around her shoulders in return. They hadn't said a word to each other the whole time, knowing the rain would drown their voices out anyway, so their only communication came through body language and touch. She knew he knew that she was feeling cold and uncomfortable, just as she knew from the amount of times he strained his neck to catch a glimpse of the world outside their haven that he was anxious about Colonel O'Neill and Daniel.

When she felt him do it yet again, she looked up at him and patted his chest reassuringly. He inclined his head and relaxed, so she knew he got the message - the colonel and Daniel were grown men and could take care of themselves. They just had to wait patiently for this freak storm to end, and then they could figure out what to do from there.

Unfortunately, the storm seemed to have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Another hour passed, and it only seemed to grow darker and colder by the minute. Pretty soon Teal'c shifted his position and nudged Sam's arm as if to suggest they try to get some sleep. Sam had no arguments there. She curled up beside him with her head on his chest and her arm draped around his waist, he wrapped his arms around her to ward off the cold, and almost immediately Sam began to doze.

It was amazing how a steady, loud noise can often seem to disappear completely once you get used to it, she mused absently as she began to drift off to sleep. The beating of Teal'c's heart was all she could hear as they lay there, and it made her feel more relaxed than she'd ever felt in her life. She was aware of the sound even as she began to dream.

She never remembered what the dream was about, only the feeling of serenity and happiness that came with it. Even the cold seemed to fade from her bones, and she was left with such a feeling of warmth and contentment that it was like she was lying in bed wrapped in a soft duvet rather than perched in a tree waiting out a storm.

When she partially awoke minutes later to the feeling of lips pressed against her forehead, she smiled and lifted her face to kiss them back. It seemed like the most natural thing in the universe to do. She felt the lips curve up in a soft smile at the contact, so she smiled again and met them in another kiss. And another, and another, until she finally had to change her position in order to reach them more comfortably.

The feeling of gentle hands stroking her back and shoulders only encouraged her to kiss more deeply and more passionately. It was the most surreal experience she'd ever had, yet at the same time she knew exactly what she was doing and who she was kissing. She somehow sensed that he was feeling the same way, and it made her wonder why it had taken them this long to figure out how they felt about each other.

The kiss continued for what seemed like forever, slow and steady, soft and sweet. Sam didn't open her eyes even for a second for fear that it would come to an end. Until she realized that something around them had changed.

It took her a moment to figure out what that change was, but finally her senses tuned back into reality and she realized that the rain had stopped. She actually felt disappointed.

"Teal'c," she whispered as she opened her eyes and pushed his face away from hers. "The rain stopped."

He opened his eyes and looked at her with a mixture of satisfaction and regret on his face. "Indeed it has," he said.

Sam peeked out through the leaves and saw that there was at least a foot or two of water surrounding the base of their tree. She clicked her radio and said, "Colonel? Daniel? You guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Colonel O'Neill's voice responded. "A bit sick of being stuck up a tree, but what can you do?"

"I'm fine, too," Daniel chimed in. "Where's Teal'c?"

Sam looked over at her tree-mate and smiled. "He's with me," she said. "We're both fine."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow in what could only be described as a smirk.

"We, uh... we'll probably be here for a while longer," Sam said, keeping her voice low just in case the others were within earshot.

"That appears most likely," Teal'c said, glancing at the water below them.

"And since there's not much else to do while we're stuck in this tree..."

Teal'c seemed to read her mind. Before she'd even finished her sentence, he took her face in his hands and picked up exactly where they'd left off.

The End


End file.
